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The Food Forum's Evil Twin. Trying to lose weight or get in shape? Tips, encouragement, status reports, and so forth go here.Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, we are not health professionals. Take advice with salt.

Sunday (21 miles) was nice, there was a road race going on in my area, so I managed to get myself to a few strategic spots, by bike of course, to watch it. This involved a lot of racing to get there in time. May do something similar on thursday, there's a pro race around here (UCI 2.1, it has Cavendish, Greipel and some more big names riding it) and I already saw I can catch it at 3 spots (one walking distance from my office). Probably going to do that by bike as well, to avoid getting caught in a traffic jam.

That makes 752 km in june, my top month. Still a bit behind schedule for my year goal (6000 km, I'm at 2600 now), but catching up quickly. Got 2 days of cycling in the Ardennes planned for this week, get some real hills under my wheels rather than the overpasses, viaducts, bridges and tunnels I have to make do with over here...

Giant Speck wrote:It's been way too hot to ride this past week. It got up to 117°F (47°C) yesterday.

Yikes! So what does your "riding year" look like? Over here the winters are fairly mild, so not too cold and not too much snow and ice (although this winter has lingered on for a long time) and our summers are also fairly mild, not too warm and dry. I try to ride at least once or twice a week as long as the weather allows, which wasn't much this winter

plus 39 - First day of cycling in the Ardennes. Started off with a bit of drizzle. My first serious climbing/descending in about a year. The first long downhill was on a busy road with stop and go traffic, not nice. We got drenched in the last 2-3 miles. Happy to see that if the climb is not too steep I can get into a good rhythm and just slog it out with a decent heart rate.

plus 53 - More Ardennes. Some more climbing and some steeper bits. I did have to walk one section of uphill, but I did manage the very steep (19% according to my guide) approach to that hill. Found more confidence in the descents too.

plus 12.7 - A short recovery ride after 2 days of climbing and a concert (standing of course) last night.

plus 39 - First day of cycling in the Ardennes. Started off with a bit of drizzle. My first serious climbing/descending in about a year. The first long downhill was on a busy road with stop and go traffic, not nice. We got drenched in the last 2-3 miles. Happy to see that if the climb is not too steep I can get into a good rhythm and just slog it out with a decent heart rate.

plus 53 - More Ardennes. Some more climbing and some steeper bits. I did have to walk one section of uphill, but I did manage the very steep (19% according to my guide) approach to that hill. Found more confidence in the descents too.

plus 12.7 - A short recovery ride after 2 days of climbing and a concert (standing of course) last night.

Thanks. I'm pleased to see my progress over the past year. Dropped a few pounds, got a bit stronger. Downhills are still scary and I really need to practice standing up on the pedals, but I'm having fun on my bike and that's what it's all about.

since we are right at the end of racing season, he is taking me up and training me for next year. its gonna get BRUTAL. im on a new diet, training constantly from here on out, ALOT of miles.

edit: also, new high speed record for me: 32.3 MPH. that was a little frightening. ill probably break that in coming weeks though. MUST get a helmet before trying though, im taking too many risks without one.

EvilDuckie wrote:Welcome! That's a pretty good start! You'll catch up with us, don't worry about it. I remember being very proud of myself, back when I started biking, that I'd done a 10-mile ride.

Thanks! I figure this place may help me up my mile count. I think after every ride I will also do some push ups to get a better body workout.

Tomlidich the second wrote:edit: also, new high speed record for me: 32.3 MPH. that was a little frightening. ill probably break that in coming weeks though. MUST get a helmet before trying though, im taking too many risks without one.

Whoa, how'd you get 32.3 MPH? Is that with a bike with the slim, high psi tires? I think I can get a bit more than 20 MPH but that's with my 'hybrid' tires that came with the bike.

QED-1 wrote:Whoa, how'd you get 32.3 MPH? Is that with a bike with the slim, high psi tires? I think I can get a bit more than 20 MPH but that's with my 'hybrid' tires that came with the bike.

Skinny tires help, high psi helps, training helps (being strong enough to get the pedals round at about 90 rpm in a heavy gear). Don't know the circumstances in which Tomlidich achieved this speed, but if I look at my own results, things like tailwinds and downhills help. I've hit 43 mph on a downhill and that was as fast as I dared go, if I would have pedalled as well I could have gone faster. I've paced a moped with a strong tailwind and when I had enough of breathing in his exhaust gases I decided to overtake him, topping 30 mph (imagine the look on his face when I cruised past him, saying 'hi')

@Tomlidich: Yeah, get a helmet, seriously.

Looks like it's 2 weeks ago since I last updated my mileage, so here goes:

I'm pretty sure I can hit 90 rpm in my heaviest gear but it won't come close to 30 mph. I won't change my tires though, I like being able to ride in different terrains. Biggest local downhill I can get is about 100 ft in height and not at a steep angle. Haha, that's awesome. I was racing a tractor the other day and overtook it for a bit but I had to slow down. Those numbers aren't too bad! 63.5 miles in a day? I like that.

Tomlidich the second wrote:edit: the bike im riding is an entry level roadbike made by GMC, its called the denali. i want a better bike though, because nice things are nice.

I've checked out some reviews of the bike and it seems like it's a pretty good bike for its price. There seems to be a bit of confusion on the gear shifts (I've seen photos of 2 different ones online, plus talk of a third one in the review texts. Also, they seem to have used mountain bike gears, with the toughest one being 48x14, on road bikes a gearing where the biggest chainring in front is larger and the smallest cog in back is smaller is more common. For example, I've got a 50x12 If you're looking to upgrade your existing bike I'd say this is the first thing to consider.

FWIW, I've got the 2011 model of this one. Very happy with it and because I bought it shortly before the 2012 models would be hitting the stores I got a nice discount on it too.

EvilDuckie wrote:I've checked out some reviews of the bike and it seems like it's a pretty good bike for its price. There seems to be a bit of confusion on the gear shifts (I've seen photos of 2 different ones online, plus talk of a third one in the review texts. Also, they seem to have used mountain bike gears, with the toughest one being 48x14, on road bikes a gearing where the biggest chainring in front is larger and the smallest cog in back is smaller is more common. For example, I've got a 50x12 If you're looking to upgrade your existing bike I'd say this is the first thing to consider.

FWIW, I've got the 2011 model of this one. Very happy with it and because I bought it shortly before the 2012 models would be hitting the stores I got a nice discount on it too.

yeah i thought the gearing may need improving, i find myself moving about on the maximum gear setting alot, and wanting more out of it.

its really TECHNICALLY my dads bike, i just ride it most often. pretty soon im just going to do a frame up build of my own for road racing and training. figure by the time i break EVERYTHING on that bike, it will be time to get spendy.

ah yes and 12 miles today: 6775.2 + 12 = 6787.2

this ride this morning HURT. everything below my neck hurts right now, especially my knee. think i need to take it easy for the next week, flat ground only, no hills.

56 miles in one day? Nice! I'm going to move in a couple weeks from a small rural town with many quiet roads to bike to a really big city... I'd like to get those kind of miles before I move.

that was 56 HARD miles, racing other, more trained, and fresh riders on the bike path at the beach. was pulling ahead of guys on bikes much better than mine, and my muscles are informing me today that that was a bad idea.

Dodging thunderstorms this weekend and trying to fit cycling in with work and the other stuff I enjoy doing.

that was 56 HARD miles, racing other, more trained, and fresh riders on the bike path at the beach. was pulling ahead of guys on bikes much better than mine, and my muscles are informing me today that that was a bad idea.

So you mentioned getting a new coach recently. Do you regularly race? And keep in mind: it's the cyclist, not the bike, that counts

Dodging thunderstorms this weekend and trying to fit cycling in with work and the other stuff I enjoy doing.

that was 56 HARD miles, racing other, more trained, and fresh riders on the bike path at the beach. was pulling ahead of guys on bikes much better than mine, and my muscles are informing me today that that was a bad idea.

So you mentioned getting a new coach recently. Do you regularly race? And keep in mind: it's the cyclist, not the bike, that counts

Dodging thunderstorms this weekend and trying to fit cycling in with work and the other stuff I enjoy doing.

that was 56 HARD miles, racing other, more trained, and fresh riders on the bike path at the beach. was pulling ahead of guys on bikes much better than mine, and my muscles are informing me today that that was a bad idea.

So you mentioned getting a new coach recently. Do you regularly race? And keep in mind: it's the cyclist, not the bike, that counts

monday: 4

today: 5

6981 + 4 + 5 = 6990

race season is pretty much over, im just training for next season.

as far as racing other cyclists on the street, all the time

edit: whoever breaks 7k, gets a cookie

Just started my new training schedule this week. It's mostly interval and intensity based, not to maximize the distance. I don't have enough time for multiple four+ hour training sessions per week.

So on Tuesday I went for a quick ride and as I was coming back about 5 ft from my house I turned too quickly and fell. Any tips as to what to do when falling on knee and elbow? Recommend staying off it for a while? Knee had swollen up a bit but it's mostly gone now. I just scraped some muscle by the elbow so I'm fine there, that'll heal.

So on Tuesday I went for a quick ride and as I was coming back about 5 ft from my house I turned too quickly and fell. Any tips as to what to do when falling on knee and elbow? Recommend staying off it for a while? Knee had swollen up a bit but it's mostly gone now. I just scraped some muscle by the elbow so I'm fine there, that'll heal.

be really careful dude.

i messed my knee up good by going down hard in a corner, i was pushing about 20 mph, hit a puddle, bike slid out from under me, and all my body weight went into my knee cap. completely shattered everything in there, tore up tissue, couldn't walk for better part of a year.

stay off the bike for a little bit, ice it, try getting some light walking in to feel it out. if there isn't any pain, swelling, weird pops/grinding/crunching noises, you should be alright.

edit: try to take future accidents on less prone to breaking parts. keep those limbs tucked in during corners, and if you do fall, try to take most of it on thicker parts, your hips, shoulders, torso, etc. those are alot less prone to breaking. especially your butt. falling on your butt hurts, and is the silliest looking thing ever, but you will avoid alot of injuries.